Monitoring of rocky reef communities in the Canary Islands
This integrated monitoring program focuses on subtidal rocky reef ecosystems in the Canary Islands, with current efforts concentrated on Gran Canaria. It combines two complementary approaches: the legacy Costa Viva program (2000-2005, resumed in 2023) and the globally standardized Reef Life Survey (RLS) method (2013-ongoing). The program monitors large mobile invertebrates, benthic habitat structure, and reef fish using standardized underwater visual census protocols. Sampling spans depths of 1-5-30 meters, and surveys are conducted biannually, in April-May (RLS) and September-November (Costa Viva). The program supports biodiversity assessments, evaluation of climate impact indicators (e.g. Community Thermal Index, habitat loss), and population-level trend analyses to inform species protection and IUCN assessments.<div>Costa Viva uses 8 quadrats (1x1 m) per site and larger 50 square meters areas for macroinvertebrate and cryptic fish counts. RLS applies 2x50 m belt transects for fish and benthos. The program aims to expand to other islands in the archipelago depending on resources.</div>
Default
- Date ( Creation)
- 2000-01-01
- Status
- Operational
- Keywords
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Canary Islands
- Keywords
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reef fish
- Keywords
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macroinvertebrates
- Keywords
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biodiversity monitoring
- Access constraints
- Copyright
- Description
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Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
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metadataMetadata
- File identifier
- aab086d2-0408-4d4c-b40f-566264f007e0 XML
- Metadata language
- en
- Hierarchy level
- Research Site
